Dial with finger directing indicia



Oct. 22, 1957 H, LELLO 2,810,799

DIAL WITH FINGER DIRECTING INDICIA Filed Oct. 5. 1954 FIG.2

INVENTOR, HERSERT F. LELLO United States atet 2,810,790 Patented Oct. 22, 1957 DIAL WITH FINGER DIRECTING rNntcia Application October 5, 1954, Serial No. 469,414 8 Claims. (Cl. 17990) This invention relates to dialing apparatus for use in association with automatic telephone impulse transmitters. More particularly this invention is concerned with the dial indexing means of such dialing apparatus. To extend the visibility of the dialing indicia and thereby to promote their readability it has been found advisable to move the indicia radially outward from their previous well-known position directly beneath the apertures of the dialing finger wheel. Previously the indicia have tended to be obscured if viewed from certain angles by the structure of the finger wheel. In so moving the indicia, however, the problem is encountered of insuring that the individual indicia will be positively related to the proper aperture of the finger wheel by the telephone user.

it is the chief object of my invention, therefore, to provide a new and novel dialing arrangement which will positively insure this relationship and in so doing obviate or at least minimize dialing error caused by inadequate lighting, obliqueness of the sighting angle, and inexperience.

Another object of my invention is to provide an indicia indicating means of a character such as to instantaneously manifest itself and the indicia indicated to the telephone user when a number is to be dialed.

A further object of my invention is the provision of an indicia indicating means of the character described in the preceding paragraph which will speed digit selecting and hence minimize the time interval between each series of dial pulses.

Additional objects and features of my invention will become apparent from a consideration of its description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings of which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the invention showing the indicia and the indicia indicating means of a dial assembly, and

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 22 of Fig. 1. It will be noted that the dialing mechanism is not shown and only the mechanism housing has been included. This apparatus is omitted for the reason that it constitutes no material part of the present invention.

Referring now to the drawings the dial assembly is seen to comprise a dial casing 10 which together with a housing 11 incloses the dialing mechanism, not shown. A cover plate 12 is seated in a chamfer 10a of the casing 10 and is secured to the casing 10 in any convenient manner. Circumscribing the dial casing 11) is an annular indicia plate 13 having a slightly convex surface 13a as clearly shown in the section view of Fig. 2. The face 13a together with the annular cover plate 12 constitutes the dial face of the dial assembly. Two concentric flanges 13b and 130 are provided on the plate 13 to facilitate mounting and fitting with the associated components. Thus the flange 1317 together with a radially outwardly directed flange 13d at right angles to the flange 13b is adapted to facilitate mounting of the entire assembly in a telephone subset. The flange 13c together with a radially inwardly directed flange 13s also at right angles to the flange 130 provides means for properly seating the dial casing 10 and for insuring that the cover plate 12 will be substantially flush with the surface 13a of the indicia plate 13. The dial casing 10 is rigidly secured to the flange 13c and a mounting bracket 18 by screw means 14.

A finger wheel 15, slightly dished, is provided to perform the usual function of controlling. the impulse trans- 1 mitting mechanism. The finger wheel 15 is equipped with a series of apertures 16 by means of which the finger wheel 15 may be rotated to the finger stop 17 in the wellknown manner. Arranged concentrically on the slightly convex surface 13a of the annular plate 13 and positioned radially outward from and in alignment with the apertures 16 of the finger wheel 15 are dialing indicia 17. As is evident from Fig. 1 the indicia 17 are so placed as to be completely unobstructed by any structural details of the dialing assembly when viewed from any angle.

concentrically arranged on the cover plate 12 and positioned respectively directly beneath the apertures 16 of the finger wheel 15 are indicia indicating markers 21]. The markers 20 are each of substantially deltoid configuration and each has its apex directed to the particular dialing indicia 17 related to the finger wheel aperture 16 beneath which the particular marker 21) appears thereby providing an unambiguous identification of aperture and indicia group. The markers 20 together with the indicia 17 are preferably of a color to contrast emphatically with the background tone of the dialing assembly proper; in the preferred embodiment the combination of white on black was found satisfactory. With the markers or pointers 20 as located and described the individual indicia of the plate 13 can be instantaneously identified with the corresponding apertures 16 of the finger wheel 15. Thus a positive selection of the apertures 16 is assured without undue searching and obviating any uncertainty in the matching of an aperture with the individual group of indicia desired.

While what has been described is considered to be the preferred embodiment of my invention it is to be understood that modification may be made in the structure and arrangement of the details without departing from the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is:

1. In a dial assembly including an impulse transmitting mechanism, a cylindrical casing for said mechanism, an annular cover plate for said casing, an annular indicia plate encircling said casing, said indicia plate having a flange supporting said casing such that said cover plate is substantially flush with the surface of said annular indicia plate, a finger wheel rotatably mounted in said casing above and concentric with said cover plate, said finger wheel having regularly spaced finger apertures toward the periphery thereof, said indicia plate having dialing indicia regularly spaced on the surface thereof, said dialing indicia being in radial alignment with said finger apertures, indicia marking means on said cover plate in radial alignment with said dialing indicia and directly below said apertures, said marking means pointing out the said indicia on said indicia plate associated with said apertures, and means associated with said flange for maintaining said marking means on said cover plate in alignment with said indicia on said indicia plate.

2. In a dial assembly, a cylindrical casing having an annular cover plate, an annular extension of said cover plate, said extension including angularly spaced dialing indicia thereon, a finger wheel rotatably mounted in said casing above and concentric with said cover plate, said finger wheel having angularly spaced finger apertures in alignment with said dialing indicia toward the periphery thereof, said apertures lying radially' inward spectively to each of said dialing indicia.

3. In a dial assembly having an impulse transmitter controlled by a rotatable finger Wheel, said finger wheel having angularly spaced finger apertures, an annular dial surface extending below and radially outward from said finger Wheel, said dial surface having dialing indicia angula'rly spaced in alignment with said finger apertures,

"said indicia including direction indicating devicesof substantially deltoid configuration for pointing out the indicia associated respectively with each of said finger apertures. 4. Inia dial assembly having an impulse transmitter controlled by a rotatable finger wheel having angularly spaced finger apertures, an annular dial surface extending below and radially outward from said'finger wheel, said dial surface having dialing indicia spaced in radial alignment with and radially out from said finger apertures, and direction indicating means on said dial surface of substantially triangular configuration, the apexes of said means indicating the indicia associated respectively with each of said finger apertures. I i 5. In an impulse transmitter controlled by a rotatable finger Wheel having angularly spaced finger apertures and a stationary dial face, dialing indicia spaced on said dial face in angular alignment with and radially outward from said finger apertures, and direction indicating devices rspacedron said dial face in angular alignment with said dialing indiciaand substantially on the axes of said finger apertures, said deviceshaving a substantially triangular configuration, the apexes of said devices indicating the indicia associated'respectively with each of.

said finger apertures. e 6. In a dial assembly having an impulse transmitter controlled by a finger wheel having angularly' spaced finger apertures, a dial face before which said finger'wheel may be rotated, and direction indicating devices on said dial face, said devices spaced in angular alignment with and centered along the axes of said finger apertures, said devices having a substantially deltoid configuration, the

apexes of said devices indicating points of said dial face from which said finger-Wheel may be rotated.

7. In a dial assembly having an impulse transmitter controlled by an indexing Wheel, said Wheel having augularly spaced means adapting said wheel for manual rota tion, a dial face before which said wheel maybe manually rotated, dialing indicia on said dial face associated with and spaced in angular alignment with said means, and direction indicating devices associated with said means and said dialing indicia, said devices having a substantially deltoid configuration, the apexes of said devices indicat ing indicia points on said dial face and associated with said means from which said indexing wheel may be means for pointing out the indicia associated respectively with each of said finger apertures and comprising pointers indicating theindicia associatedsrespectively with each of said finger apertures.

ReferencesiCited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,563,581 Clarke et al. m Aug. 7, 1951 

